Review: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Bristol Hippodrome – ‘A roaring musical masterclass in empowerment’

If the purpose of a review is to give you a steer, I’ll state straight off the bat: go and see this show.

There. Have a fabulous day.

No no. Actually. Hang on.

I’d envisage it’s difficult to wax lyrical in a new and refreshing way about this play. Give me a couple of minutes to try.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie sits slap-bang at the heart of modern theatre marvels. It’s much reviewed, much revered, and every bit deserving of both. The smash-hit musical is a roaring masterclass in empowerment, complete with vital societal critique and catchy tunes.

The story of Jamie New — a 16-year-old set on becoming a drag queen — was inspired by that of Jamie Campbell, beginning with the 2011 BBC documentary that followed the teenager’s journey from bigotry to big heels.

Ivano Turco (Jamie New) and Talia Palamathanan(Pritti) in the Everybody’s Talking About Jamie Tour 2023-24

Now it’s here, in Bristol, following its launch in Sheffield seven-plus years back, a record-breaking three-year West End residency, a sold-out UK & Ireland Tour, and an Amazon studios award-winning film. Quite the roll call, no?

You’d be hard-pressed to have not heard of it at least once during that stint. I mean, not literally everybody is talking about it, but I can’t help but feel they should be.

Writer Tom MacRae’s background in TV lends the dialogue a sharp, human feel, but you’re never far from a comic quip, a bombastic pop number or a balladic, emotional turn. MacRae has worked flawlessly in tandem with Dan Gillespie Sells (lead singer-songwriter of The Feeling) to create a compelling coming-of-age drama with sparkling musical turns.

Ivano Turco (Jamie New) and cast

The direction is watertight — Matt Ryan carries the torch capably following Jonathan Butterell’s conceptual development and tireless steers. The band is marvellous. Tick. Anna Fleischle’s stage design is punctuated by swift shifts in the scenery, from the classroom to the House of Loco drag shop to Jamie’s kitchen in working-class Sheffield. The added video projection makes statement moments — like Jamie’s first drag show — all the more powerful.

And the whole cast excels. The characters are, naturally, defined by their relationship with our protagonist, but they’re far from two-dimensional.

Take Talia Palamathanan, who’s sublime as Pritti, Jamie’s booksmart best friend undergoing her own journey to self-acceptance. Then there’s Rebecca McKinnis who continues as Jamie’s uber-supportive mother and brings all the gravitas of her West End experience. (He’s My Boy is a power ballad of genuine emotional weight).

The Everybody’s Talking About Jamie ensemble

Sejal Keshwala plays Ray, and she is just that: a shimmering, no-nonsense beacon of light for Jamie and his Mum, filling the void left by the reprehensible father figure and doing so with aplomb.

And it’s tough to avert your gaze from Loco Chanelle — ‘the greatest drag queen in t’world’. Kevin Clifton’s got the lungs to match the pins for the part.

There’s nuance to the characters, but make no mistake: Ivano Turcoe is never a millimetre shy of stage-stealing as Jamie New. He is genuinely fantastic. As the fourth actor to take on the mantle since the show launched, I struggle to see him falling short of any previous iterations. He’s flamboyant, bitingly funny, sassy, sombre, and scintillating.

Ivano Turco (Jamie New)

For just shy of three hours we revel in the pops of colour, the shimmering glitz, the hilarious cameos from ‘The Legs Eleven’ drag queens (including one ‘Sandra Bollock’), and the flowing dance sequences from Jamie’s fellow students, choreographed wonderfully by Kate Prince.

The only slight difficulty I had was in discerning lyrics during certain numbers. As a raucous, ripsnorting musical, the emotional weight takes over at certain turns, and that’s fine, but the sound team could strike a slightly finer balance between the band and the actors.

The narrative arc culminates in the school prom, to which Jamie New comes ‘as himself’, subtle and stunning in a flowing white dress. It is here that hardship falters and hope prevails. It’s got more than a semblance of Billy Elliot energy.

Ivano Turco (Jamie New) and Talia Palamathanan(Pritti)

It’s fascinating how invested you become in the characters, too. The cheers for those challenging the status quo are raucous, whilst the dreary, cruel Dad and school bully Dean seemed genuinely apologetic as they took their bows.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie works as a piece precisely because of the often fractious world we live in. It works as a soaring celebration of triumph over conflict, of the importance of family, and of sizzling self-realisation. Bristol seems a particularly fitting city to heed that message and to cheer it in abundance.

If you’re ever in need of a confidence boost or simply a big wide smile, this tale fits the bill. It’s an enduring reminder to “grab life by the balls — then tuck the balls and conquer it all.”

Garry Lee (Sandra Bollock)

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is at Bristol Hippodrome on March 25-30 at 7.30pm, with additional 2.30pm matinee shows on Wednesday and Saturday. Tickets are available at www.atgtickets.com.

All photos: Matt Crockett

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